US3499710A - Document feeder - Google Patents

Document feeder Download PDF

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Publication number
US3499710A
US3499710A US617582A US3499710DA US3499710A US 3499710 A US3499710 A US 3499710A US 617582 A US617582 A US 617582A US 3499710D A US3499710D A US 3499710DA US 3499710 A US3499710 A US 3499710A
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Prior art keywords
document
feeder
window
station
tray
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Expired - Lifetime
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US617582A
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English (en)
Inventor
Lloyd W Sahley
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MIDWESTERN SECURITIES CORP
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MIDWESTERN SECURITIES CORP
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
    • G03B27/00—Photographic printing apparatus
    • G03B27/32—Projection printing apparatus, e.g. enlarger, copying camera
    • G03B27/52—Details
    • G03B27/62—Holders for the original
    • G03B27/6207—Holders for the original in copying cameras
    • G03B27/625—Apparatus which relate to the handling of originals, e.g. presence detectors, inverters
    • G03B27/6264—Arrangements for moving several originals one after the other to or through an exposure station
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41L—APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR MANIFOLDING, DUPLICATING OR PRINTING FOR OFFICE OR OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSES; ADDRESSING MACHINES OR LIKE SERIES-PRINTING MACHINES
    • B41L21/00—Devices for conveying sheets or webs of copy material through the apparatus or machines for manifolding, duplicating, or printing
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H29/00—Delivering or advancing articles from machines; Advancing articles to or into piles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/02—Separating articles from piles using friction forces between articles and separator
    • B65H3/06—Rollers or like rotary separators
    • B65H3/063—Rollers or like rotary separators separating from the bottom of pile
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H43/00—Use of control, checking, or safety devices, e.g. automatic devices comprising an element for sensing a variable
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H5/00—Feeding articles separated from piles; Feeding articles to machines
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H7/00—Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles

Definitions

  • a document feeder for use with known copying machines in which the document to be copied is positioned at a copying station for exposure to the copying mechanism of the machine.
  • the feeder advances a document from a document supply station to the copying station, positions the document properly thereat, and actuates the copying machine to copy the document. After the document has been exposed to. the copying machine, it is fed to a document supply station. The operation is repeated until all pages of the document have been copied.
  • Certain of the feeder embodiments provide for automatically feeding a document a preselected number of times to the copying machine to make the preselected number of copies of the document.
  • the feeder automatically compensates for advancing different size and thickness of sheets so the individual sheets of a document stack to be fed may include sheets of widely differing size and thickness.
  • the pages of the document stack are fed in numerical order to the copying station and are stacked after exposure in the same numerical order. After the last page of the document is removed from the copying station, the feeder again advances the first page of the document to the copying station automatically if another copy of the document is to be made. The succeeding pages are then fed in numerical order to the copying station and the second copy of the document is made by the copying machine. The operation is continued until the selected number of copies of the document have been made and the feeder is shut off. The copies are delivered from the copying machine in numerical order since the document pages are always maintained in the order in which they are loaded into the feeder and consequently do not have to be collated.
  • Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved document feeder for a copying machine as noted in the preceding paragraph wherein one copy of the document is made by the copying machine each time the document is fed between document trays and when the last page of the document has been exposed to the copying mechanism and is delivered to one of the trays, the feeder is automatically reversed and the pages of the document are fed from the one tray to the copying station and to the other tray until the selected number of copies have been made.
  • Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved document feeder for a copying machine as noted in the preceding paragraph wherein the document is fed to the copying station from lower portions of the trays and is received from the station at upper portions of the trays and means are 3,499,710 Patented Mar. 10, 1970 provided for controlling the feeder so that when feed is from one of the trays, the other tray is arranged to receive the document and vice versa.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved document feeder for feeding the pages of a document to a copying station of a copying machine in numerical order and are discharged therefrom and stacked in the same numerical order so that the pages of each copy made of the document are automatically collated as they are delivered from the copying machine.
  • a further object of the present invention is the provision of a document feeder for a copying machine and which automatically compensates for advancing to the copying machine a document comprising individual sheets of different size and thickness so that sheets of different physical characteristics may be fed without making any adjustment of the feeder.
  • Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved document feeder as set forth in the preceding paragraph wherein the copying machine has an exterior copying window on which the sheet or sheets of the document to be copied are advanced into a copying position by a plurality of driven rollers supported above the window and are counterbalanced to exert a preset light pressure on the window, and the rollers are readily movable away from the window by a sheet moving therebetween and extent necessary to accommodate the sheet thicknesses and yet exert sufiicient pressure on the sheets to drive the sheets to the copying position.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved document feeder for automatically feeding a document to be copied from a document storage station to a copying window of a copying machine to eliminate manual feeding of the copying machine.
  • a further object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved document feeder as noted in the preceding paragraph wherein the feeder has a frame supported on the machine so that at least a portion thereof overlies the copying window and the overlying portion can be readily moved away from the window to provide for freeing a jammed page or to manually position a book or the like on the window.
  • Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved document feeder for automatically advancing a page or pages of a document to a copying window of a copying machine and wherein the document is loaded into a document supply station overlying the copying window with the bottom page exposed to the copying window and feeding means successively removes the bottom page after each bottom page has been copied by the copying machine and conveys same to a document receiving station.
  • Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved document feeder as noted in the preceding paragraph where the feeding means includes a reciprocable member having sheet gripping means and which is moved into gripping engagement with the bottom sheet and removes the sheet upon retraction of the member and directs it to a conveyor which delivers the sheet to the document receiving station.
  • the feeding means includes a reciprocable member having sheet gripping means and which is moved into gripping engagement with the bottom sheet and removes the sheet upon retraction of the member and directs it to a conveyor which delivers the sheet to the document receiving station.
  • a further object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved document feeder having a carriage with sheet gripping means for successively gripping pages of the document at a document supply station and conveying the pages to and properly positioning them at the copying station and removing them from the copying station and depositing same at a document receiving station.
  • a still further object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved document feeder as noted in the preceding paragraph wherein thesheets are gripped by suction members and are released by discontinuing operation of a suction pump.
  • FIG. 1 is a plan view of a feeder embodying the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the feeder taken approximately along line 22 of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 2a is a sectional view taken approximately along line 2a--2a of FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 3 is an elevational view of part of the feeder indicated by line 33 of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing another feeder embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a plan view of still another feeder embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken approximately along line 66 of FIG. 5;
  • FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the feeder of FIG. 6 and showing parts in different positions;
  • FIG. 8 is a frontal elevational view showing portions in section of another feeder embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view with parts removed of the feeder of FIG. 8;
  • FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of the feeder of FIG. 8 and showing parts in different positions;
  • FIG. 11 is a fragmentary elevation view of the feeder of FIG. 8 as viewed from the back side;
  • FIG. 12 is an elevational view with parts broken away of a further feeder embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken approximately along line 1313 of FIG. 12.
  • FIG. 14 is a wiring diagram showing controls for the feeder.
  • the present invention relates to a novel feeder for feeding a page or pages of a document to a copying station of a copying machine.
  • the term document as used herein is intended to mean multiple related pages.
  • the copying machine is operated to make an image of the document and make a copy thereof each time a page has been advanced to the copying station.
  • the documents are fed to a copying machine which has an exterior window through which the document is exposed to the copying mechanism of the copying machine. It should be appreciated, however, the feeders according to the present invention have applicability for feeding sheets to copying machines which have copying stations other than a window or the like.
  • the illustrated embodiments provide for automatic feeding of documents to a copying station a selected number of times so that the machine can make the required number of copies of the document without manual reloading.
  • the feeders require manual reloading after one copy of the document has been made by the copying machine.
  • the pages of the document are stacked as they are delivered from the copying station in the same numerical order in which they are originally stacked when loaded into the feeder so that if the document is to be again fed to the copying station whether manually or by automatic means, the copied pages of the document are delivered from the copying machine in numerical order and no collating of pages is required.
  • the feeders according to the illustrated embodiments of the present invention are adaptable for use with several commercially-available copying machines.
  • the machine shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 12 is of the type having a raised copying window and the feeder mechanisms are arranged to feed the documents to and from the raised Window.
  • the copying machine illustrated in FIG. 8 is of the type having a flush-mounted copying window.
  • the difference in the feeders for these different types of machines is in the supporting arrangement of the feeder to compensate for the difference in height of the copying window relative to the upper surface of the copying machine.
  • a feeder designated generally as 10 is shown supported on a copying machine 12.
  • the copying machine 12 has a high-rise window or viewing station 14 through which the document to be copied is exposed to the copying mechanism of the copying machine.
  • an image of a document positioned on the window 14 is made and transmitted.
  • the image is formed on a sheet of copy paper and is subsequently discharged from the machine into some type of receiving tray.
  • the copying machines with which the present invention is associated are commercially available machines and accordingly the details of construction and operation will not be described herein.
  • the feeder 10 is adapted to feed a document or documents to be copied from a document supply station 16 to the copying or viewing station represented by the copying window 14.
  • the documents represented by the letter M in the drawings are manually loaded into the document supply station 16.
  • the copying machine is operated automatically to make an image of the indicia on the document.
  • the document is delivered to a second document supply station 20. This operation continues until all the pages of the document M have been presented to the copying window 14 and are stacked at the document supply station 20.
  • the feeder 10 If the feeder 10 has been set to provide more than one copy of the document, the document is then fed page-by-page from the document supply station 20 to the copying window 14 where it is again exposed to the copying mechanism of the copying machine 12 and thereafter delivered to the document supply station 14. The operation continues until the document has been exposed the desired number of times to the copying machine 12 to provide the selected number of copies. When the document has been fed the required number of times, the feeder 10 is automatically shut off.
  • the document supply stations 16 and 20 are provided by identical structure and, consequently, only document supply station 16 will be described in detail. The same reference numerals will be applied to the corresponding parts of the document supply station 20 with the addition of the letter a.
  • the document supply station 14 is provided by a tray 22 which is supported in any suitable manner on the machine 12. The feeder supporting framework will be dictated by the configuration of the machine 12.
  • the pages of the document M to be copied are prearranged in numerical order with the lowest numbered page on the bottom of the stack if more than one page of the document is to be copied.
  • the stack is manually loaded into tray 22 through a suitable opening 23 in the front side of tray 22 and near the bottom of the tray 22.
  • Tray 22 has associated therewith a hold-down mechanism 24.
  • the hold-down mechanism 24 comprises a plate 25 within tray 22 which has a plurality of spring urged plungers 26 depending therefrom.
  • the plate 25 is spring-urged in a downward direction by a plurality of springs 27 acting 'between the top side of tray 22 and the upper side of the plate 25.
  • the driven rollers 22 are mounted for rotation by a shaft and are arranged so that their peripheries extend through Openings or slots 29 in the bottom of tray 22 and engage the bottom sheet of the document M.
  • Shaft 30 is rotated in clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, by a motor 32.
  • the motor 32 is preferably an electrical motor which has a drive pulley 34 drivingly connected to a pulley 35 on the end of shaft 30 through a drive belt 36. Operation of motor 32 effects rotation of the rollers 28 which engage the bottom-most sheet and feed it' to the right, as viewed in the drawings.
  • the bottom sheet is maintained in engagement with rollers 28 by the hold-down means 24.
  • the sheet is fed through an opening or feed-slot 37 arranged in the lower portion of the tray 22. As the leading edge of the sheet emerges from the feed slot 36, it moves across a gate 38 and into engagement with the conveyor means 40. Conveyor means 40 feeds the sheet across the bearings.
  • the shaft 54 is supported on the tray 22 by a plurality of lugs 55 fixed to the top side of tray 22. It should be apparent from the foregoing that the conveyor 42 can be pivoted away from window 14 by manually swinging it counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 2, to provide free access to the window 14. With the conveyor 42 swung out of the way, the machine 12 can be manually fed, such as by positioning a book or other document thereon, or in the event a page of the document jams, it can be readily cleared by pivoting the conveyor 42, as described.
  • An important feature of the present invention is to provide a feeder which is capable of feeding a document comprising sheets of widely varying size and thickness without adjusting the feeder 10.
  • the rollers 28 and 44 are so spaced along their associated support shafts 30 and 46-50 and shafts 30 and 46-50 are so spaced from one another that even when the smallest sized sheet which is in extensive commercial use is fed, at least two of the rollers engage the sheet at any one time.
  • the two-roller engagement provides for feeding the small size sheet with a minimum of misalignment.
  • the sheets of varying sizes must be loaded into tray 22 so that they have a common edge aligned with one corner of tray 22 to initially locate the sheets relative to the rollers.
  • the feeder 10 automatically compensates for feeding different thickness of sheets by providing means for counterbalancing the frame supporting conveyor 42.
  • the counterbalancing means comprises a pair of coil springs 57 and '59.
  • the springs 57 and 59 are connected at one end to shaft 54 and are connected at their opposite ends to brackets 52 and 53 respectively.
  • Springs 57 and 59 are selected to counterbalance a major portion of the weight of brackets 52 and 53, shafts 46-50 and rollers 44 carried thereby so that roller 44 exerts only a slight predetermined pressure on the copying window 14 which is sufficient to positively drive the sheets.
  • rollers 44 are readily moved away from window 14 by the sheet of paper being fed between the rollers and the window.
  • the rollers 44 move upward an extent to accommodate the thickness of the sheet being advanced while advancing the sheet across window 14.
  • the brackets 52 and 53 are also mounted to permit them to move relative 'to one another when, for example, the length of the sheet being advanced is less than the width of the conveyor 42.
  • the relative movement is provided by making the openings in lugs 55 larger than the shaft 54 extending therethrough so that the shaft 54 can tilt relative to the lugs and accommodate movement of one of the brackets relative to the other.
  • the rollers 44 like the rollers 28 have peripheries constructed of friction material such as rubber or the like, to readily move the paper without slipping.
  • the rollers 44 are driven by motor 32.
  • the roller shafts 46-51 are driven from shaft 30 through a disconnectible drive connection.
  • the disconnectible drive connection includes a gear 56 on one end of shaft 30 which meshes with a gear 58 rotatably supported on a shaft 31.
  • Shaft 31 is supported on an arm 52d extending from bracket 52.
  • a pulley 31c which drives pulleys 460-510 supported on the ends of shafts 46-51, respectively, through drive belts 60-65 as shown in FIG. 1.
  • drive is transmitted from gear 56 to gear 58 and imparts clockwise rotation to rollers 28 and counterclockwise rotation to rollers 44 through pulleys 46c-51c and belts 60-65.
  • the disconnectible drive connection between gears 56 and 58 permits the described pivoting of the brackets 52 and 53 to provide access to the window 14.
  • gear 58 moved out of meshing engagement with gear 56 and upon return of the brackets to their illustrated positions the gears 56 and 58 mesh.
  • the motor 32 is operated to drive the rollers 28 and 44 a predetermined number of revolutions to move a page of the document from the tray 22 onto the window 14 with the indicia thereon properly located in relationship to the window so that the image will be properly centered on the copy paper.
  • the rollers 44 rotate the predetermined number of revolutions, the sheet will be positioned with its leading long edge abutting the right hand edge of the frame of the window 14.
  • a plurality of sheet hold-down members 66 are supported by shafts 67 carried by the brackets 52 and 53.
  • the hold-down members 66 are spring members which exert a downward force on the sheet to maintain the sheet in contact with the window 14.
  • the feeder 10 can be made as a parasite unit that can be readily attached to an existing copying machine. If the unit is to be a parasite unit, means are provided for initiating the copying cycle of the copying machine after a sheet has been fed and properly positioned on the copying window 14.
  • the copying actuating mechanism preferably is in the form of a solenoid actuated finger 68 arranged to depress the print button PB of the copying machine 12 when a solenoid E is energized.
  • the solenoid E is supported in any suitable manner on tray 22 such as by a bracket 70 extending outwardly from tray 22.
  • the solenoid E is operated when the motor 32 has rotated the rollers 29 and 44 a predetermined number .of revolutions indicating that the paper is in proper position on the window 14. Upon energization, the solenoid E moves finger 68 against the bias of a spring to momentarily depress the print button PB of the machine 14, to initiate the copying cycle of the machine. After momentary contact, the solenoid E is de-energized and the spring moves the finger 68 out of engagement with the switch PB.
  • the copy cycle is initiated by directing a beam of light through the window 14 to illuminate the sheet. An image thereof is made by the copying mechanism and, subsequently, formed on a sheet of copy paper as is well known in the art.
  • a conventional photoelectric sensing means PES is suitably supported on the bracket 52 above the window 14 in position to sense the light which illuminates the page on window 14.
  • the photoelectric sensing means PES controls operation of motor 32 to move the sheet from window 14 to the document supply station 20 and at the same time, feeds a document or page thereof from the tray 22 of station 16 onto the window 14 and the copying cycle heretofore described is again repeated. The described operation is continued until all the pages of the document to be copied in tray 22 have been fed to the window 14.
  • the present invention provides for stacking of the sheets in the same numerical order in tray 22a of station 20 as they are loaded into tray 22. Hence, the sheets or pages of the document are always maintained in numerical order so that the copies delivered from the machine will also be in numerical order and will not have to be subsequently collated.
  • the documents after exposure are delivered tothe tray 22a by the conveyor 42.
  • the documents are fed up gate 3811 which has been moved to its up position and into tray 22a through the upper part of the tray.
  • the pages of the document descend by gravity on to the bottom of the tray.
  • the gates 38 and 38a are pivoted about hinge axes 39 and 39a and are movable between a down or feed position and an up or receive position by the solenoids A and B.
  • the solenoids A and B are controlled to position the gates 38 and 38A in opposite positions at all times.
  • the solenoids include spring which bias the gates to their down position and when the solenoids are energized they move the gates to their up positions.
  • solenoid A is de-energized and the gate 38 is in its down position providing for feeding through the feed slot 37 thereacross to the window 14.
  • the controls have energized the solenoid B to position the gate 38a in the receive or up position as illustrated in FIG.
  • the conveyor 42 delivers the document from the window 14 up the ramp or gate 38 and into the top of the tray 22a where it descends by gravity toward the bottom of the tray.
  • the solenoid D of the hold-down mechanism 24a is energized to move the plate 25a to its uppermost position so as not to interfere with the delivery of the sheets to tray 22a.
  • the aforedescribed feeding operation of the feeder provides for making one copy of each page of the document.
  • the feeder 10 according to the present invention can be set to make a number of copies of the document automatically without manually reloading the tray 22.
  • a copy number selector switch CCS on top of tray 22 can be set to operate feeder 10 so that the selected number of copies of the document are made by the copying machine 12.
  • the switch CSS is a commercially available switch which is stepped once each time that the document is fed to the window 14 from one of the stations and stacked in the other station.
  • the switch CC S is stepped preferably by a metal sensing switch MS-l or MS-2 carried by the hold-down plates 25 and 25a respectively.
  • the switches MS-1 and MS-2 are commercially available switches which operate when the plunger thereof engages the metal bottom of the trays 22 and 22a.
  • the switches MS-l and MS-2 initiate reversal of the feeder to provide for feeding the documents from station to station 16 to provide for making another copy of the document.
  • the switches are inoperative as long as they are out of contact with the bottom of the trays such as when there is a sheet of paper between the plungers and the bottom of the trays or plates and 25a are in their up positions.
  • switch CCS had been set to provide for making one copy of the document, it would be stepped to the zero position after the last page was delivered from the window 14 to the tray 22a of the station 20 and would shut off the feeder. If, on the other hand, switch CCS is set to make more than one copy, for example, two copies, after the last page of the document has been delivered to the station 20, the metal sensing switch MS-1 initiates operation of the controls to reverse the position of gates 38 and 38a and hold-down plates 25 and 25a from their positions shown in FIG. 2. The motor 32a on the tray 22a of the station 20 would then be energized to drive the feed rollers 28a counterclockwise and conveyor rollers 44 clockwise to feed the first page of the document in tray 22a to the window 14. The drive from motor 32a to rollers 28a and 44 is disconnectible and is similar to the drive from motor 32 to rollers 28 and 44 as described heretofore.
  • the metal sensing switch MS-2 of the hold-down mechanism 24a contacts the metal bottom of the tray 22a and steps the copy selector switch CSS back to the zero position so that as the last sheet of the document is received in tray 22, the feeder will shut off.
  • the stepping switch CSS would not shut the feeder off after the second feed but would again feed the document from tray 22 to the window 14 and from there to tray 22a. This operation would continue until the selected number of copies are made.
  • the copies made of the document are delivered from the copying machine 12 into the copy tray of the machine in numerical order and would not have to be collated.
  • an additional page could be included as the last page of the document and the machine 12 would print this page either as a blank page or as a page bearing indicia indicating that it is a separating page.
  • controls for the feeder 10 could provide for making an additional copy of a blank page after the last page of the document is fed from the window.
  • Such an arrangement may include in a parasite unit, for example, controls to energize solenoid E for operating the print button PB one more time after the last page is fed from the window 14 and would cause the copying machine 12 to print an additional page which could function as a separator between copies of the document.
  • the controls for feeder 10 are shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 14.
  • the control circuit shown therein may be used where the feeder is a so-called parasite unit. Electricity for the circuit is obtained from a wall outlet and suitable means are employed to direct the appropriate current from the outlet to conductor lines T1, T-2, T-3, and T-4 shown in the circuit diagram.
  • the pages of the document to be copied are loaded into the tray 22 through opening 23 on the front side of the tray with the indicia down. If more than one page of a document is to be copied, the pages are assembled in numerical order with the first page on the bottom.
  • the operator then turns the copy selector switch CSS to the number of copies desired of the document and depresses the on switch of the copying machine 12.
  • the switch CSS is shown in the control circuit of FIG. 14 (line 1) in position to make two copies of the document.
  • the operator depresses the start switch SS which momentarily closes its normally open contacts SSC-l (line 1) and SSC-2 (line 3). The closing of contacts SSC-l picks up the start relay 1R.
  • start relay 12 closes its normally open contacts 1R-1 (line 2) making a holding circuit for relay IR and contacts 1R-2 in the conductor line T-l, and opens its normally closed contacts 1R3 (line 29) to deenergize solenoid C (line 28) to permit the hold-down plate 25 to move down and plungers 26 thereon to engage the document.
  • the controls position gate 38 in the down or feed position and the hold-down means 24 in an up position to permit loading of tray 22.
  • the gate 380 for receiving the pages of the document as they are delivered from the copy window 14.
  • a cam operated switch COS-1 (line closes its contacts momentarily and picks up an intermittent stop relay 4R.
  • the cam operated switch COS1 can be mounted, for example, on a stepped-down shaft driven by the motor 32 so that as the motor rotates the predetermined number of revolutions the cam rotates one revolution and closes the contacts of the switch COS-1.
  • Energization of the intermittent stop relay 4R closes its normally open contacts 4R-1 (line 11) making a holding circuit around the cam switch COS1 and stops the motor 32 by opening its normally closed contacts 4R-2 (line 5) in the holding circuit for the forward feed relay 2R.
  • the forward feed relay 2R drops out its contacts 2R-2TC (line 35) open and stops the forward drive motor 32.
  • Energization of the intermediate stop relay 4R also closes its normally open contacts 4R-3 (line 13) completing a circuit to pick up the print relay 5R.
  • Energization of print relay 5R closes its normally open contacts 5R-1 (line 14) to form a holding circuit for the print relay SR and starts operation of the copying machine 12 by closing its normally open contacts 5R-2 (line 31) completing a circuit to energize solenoid E.
  • Energization of solenoid E causes the plunger 68 thereof to move out and depress the print button PB of the copying machine 12.
  • Depressing of the print button PB starts the copy mechanism into operation which includes turning on a light which illuminates the document through the window 1-4.
  • the photoelectric sensor PES line 15
  • the restart relay 6R opens its normally closed contacts 6R1 (line 11) which drops out the intermittent stop relay 4R.
  • Dropping out relay 4R closes its normally closed contacts 4R-2 (line 5) but energization of the forward relay 2R is prevented at this time due to opening of normally closed contacts 6R-2 (line 4).
  • the switch of sensor PES opens and drops out the relay 6R closing its normally closed contacts 6R2 (line 4) establishing a circuit to again energize forward feed relay 2R through the now closed contacts 5R3 of print relay SR and through the normally closed contacts 4R-2 of the intermediate stop relay 4R.
  • Energization of the forward relay 2R energizes the forward feed motor 32 by closing contacts 2R-2TC (line 35).
  • the rollers 44 move the page on the copying window 14 into the tray 22a and at the same time feed the next page of the document from tray 22 to the copy window 14.
  • the intermittent stop relay 4R is picked up by momentary closing of the cam operated switch COS-1 as described heretofore and drops out the forward feed relay 2R to stop the forward feed motor 32.
  • the metal sensing switch MS1 closes its contacts MS-1 (line 16) and MS-2 (line 7).
  • the restart relay 6R is energized and closes its normally open contacts 6R3 (line 16) completing a circuit to energize the stop forward feed relay 7R.
  • Energization of the stop forward feed relay 7R closes its normally open contacts 7R-1 (line 17) forming a holding circuit for the stop forward feed relay 7R and closes its normally open contacts 7R-2 (line 18).
  • the forward feed relay 2R is picked up as described heretofore and the last page is fed from the window 14 to the receiving tray 22a.
  • the cam switch COS1 closes and picks up the relay 4R.
  • Energization of the relay 4R stops motor 32 by opening contacts 4R-2 (line 6) and closes its normally open contacts 4R-4 (line 18) and at this time completes a circuit to the reversing relay 8R.
  • Energization of relay 8R sets up the feeder to feed the pages from tray 22a to window 14, so that a second copy of the document can be made.
  • Energization of relay 8R closes its normally open contacts 8R1 (line 19) and forms a holding circuit for the reverse relay 8R.
  • Energization of reverse relay 8R closes its normally open contacts 8R1 (line 19) and forms a holding circuit for the reverse relay 8R.
  • Energization of reverse relay 8R closes its normally open contacts 8R2 (line 26) and energizes solenoid A which moves gate 38 up to be in position to direct the documents delivered from the copy window 14 into the tray 22.
  • relay 8R opens its normally closed contacts 8R3 (line 27) and de-energizes solenoid B and gate 38a moves to the down or feed position.
  • Energization of the relay 8R reverses the positions of the hold-downs 24 and 24a by closing its normally open time delayed closing contacts 8R4TC (line 28) which energizes solenoid C after a time delay and moves the hold-down mechanism 24 up and opens its normally closed contacts 8R5 (line 30) for de-energizing solenoid D moving the hold-down mechanism 240 down under the influence of the springs 27a into engagement with the document in the tray 22a.
  • Energization of relay 8R steps the copy selector switch CSS by closing its normally open contacts 8R6 (line 32) which completes a circuit to solenoid P which indexes the copy selector switch CCS one step counterclockwise indicating that one complete copy of the document has been made.
  • Energization of reverse relay 8R also closes its normally open contacts 8R-7 (line 20) for setting up the intermittent stop relay 9R for controlling the reverse feed motor 32a and opens its normally closed contacts 8R-8 (line 10) which drops the for-ward intermittent stop relay 4R for the forward directions out of the reverse feed circuit set up.
  • reverse relay 8R reverses the feeder and sets it up so that it is ready to feed the documents from the tray 22a to the copy window 14 and from there to the tray 22.
  • the reverse feeding operation starts by closing contacts 8R9 (line 7) which picks up reverse feed relay 3R before contacts 1MS-2 (line 7) of metal sensing switch MS-l open. Contacts 1MS2 open when solenoid C is enerigized and shifts hold-down 24 to its upper position. Relay 3R is held in by closing its contacts 3R-1 (line 9) when contacts 1MS2 open.
  • the contacts'3R-2TC line 36 of reverse feed relay 3R delay in closing to delay energization of reverse motor 32a.
  • contacts 3R-2TC (line 36) close and energize reverse feed motor 32a.
  • the reverse feed motor 32a rotates the rollers 28 counterclockwise and rollers 44 clockwise and feeds the first page from the tray 22a onto the window 14.
  • the cam operated switch COS-2 (line 20) momentarily closes and picks up the intermittent stop relay 9R.
  • Energization of the intermittent stop relay 9R closes its normally open contacts 9R-1 (line 21) and forms a holding circuit for the relay 9R about the switch COS-2.
  • Energization of the intermittent stop relay 9R stops the reverse motor 32a by opening its normally closed contacts 9R-2 (line 9) breaking the circuit to the reverse feed relay 3R.
  • Energization of relay 9R also closes its normally open contacts 9R-3 (line 12) completing a circuit to pick up the print relay 5R.
  • Energization of print relay 5R closes its contacts 5R-5 (line 11) making a holding circuit for the print relay SR and closes its contacts 5R-2 (line 31) and energizes solenoid E which depresses the print button PB of the copy machine 12.
  • Depression of the print button PB initiates operation of the copy mechanism of the copy machine and the illuminating light goes on to illuminate the document on the window 14.
  • the restart relay 6R opens its contacts 6R-4 (line 21) dropping out the intermediate stop relay 9R and returns its normally open contacts 9R-2 (line 9) to their closed position.
  • Energization of the relay 6R also opens its contacts 6R5 (line 8) preventing energization of the reverse feed relay 3R at this time.
  • Energization or reverse relay 3R closes its time delayed closing contacts 3R-2TC (line 36) and energizes the drive motor 32a. This described operation is repeated until all the pages in the tray 22a have been fed from the tray 22a to the window 14. As the last page leaves the tray 22a the metal sensing switch MS2 closes its con tacts ZMS-l (line 22) in preparation for initiating the final stop of the reverse feed operation. As the last page is being illuminated by the copy mechanism of the copy machine, the relay 6R is picked up and closes its normally open contacts 6R6 (line 22) completing a circuit to the relay 10R. Energization of the relay 10R closes its normally open contacts 10R-1 (line 23) making a holding circuit for the relay 10R.
  • Energization of relay 10R also closes its normally open contacts 10R-2 (line 24) in preparation for energization of the reversing relay 11R.
  • the cam operated switch COS-2 momentarily closes and picks up relay 9R as described heretofore.
  • Picking up of relay 9R closes its contacts 9R4 (line 24) completing a circuit to the reversing relay 11R.
  • Energization of relay 9R also stops the reverse feed motor 32a by opening its normally closed contacts 9R-2 (line 9) dropping out the reverse feed relay 3R which in turn de-energizes the reverse feed motor 32a.
  • Energization of the reversing relay 11R reverses the feeder set up to prepare for feeding the document in the forward feed direction.
  • Energization of relay 11R closes its normally open contacts 11R-1 (line 25) making a holding circuit for the relay 11R.
  • Energization of relay 11R opens its normally closed contacts 11R-2 (line .16) and contacts 11R-3 (line 18) dropping out the relays 7R and 8R.
  • Hold-down 24 for tray 22 is moved down upon opening Of contact 8R-4TC (line 28) and hold-down 24a for tray 22a moves up upon closing of contacts 8R-5 (line 30). Moving up of hold-down 24a opens contacts 2MS-2 (line 6) of metal sensing switch MS2 and forward feed relay 2R is held in by contacts 2R-1 (line 5).
  • the feeder 10 is ready to feed the document in the forward feed direction and this will occur when the time delay closing contact 2R-2TC (line 35) close.
  • the copy selector switch CCS was set to feed the document twice to the copying machine and energization of reversing relay 11R steps the counter CCS one position by closing its normally open contacts 11R-4 (line 34) completing a circuit to the solenoid F.
  • the contact arm of switch CCS is now in the 12 oclock position breaking the circuit therethrough which drops out the starting relay IR and opens its normally open contacts 1R2 (line T-l) stopping further operation of the feeder.
  • the feeder 10 was described heretofore as a parasitetype feeder.
  • the feeder 10 could, however, be controlled by the copying machine 12 and in which event, the controls for operating the feeder would be integrated into the controls for the copying machine.
  • Integrated controls would eliminate at least solenoid E which depresses the print button PB on the copying machine each time a document has been positioned on the window 14 and in addition, the photoelectric sensor PES would likewise be eliminated.
  • the functions controlled thereby would be provided by the control circuits of the copying machine.
  • FIG. 4 Another embodiment of an automatic document feeder for a copying machine is illustrated in FIG. 4 and is designated generally as 90.
  • the feeder operates generally in the same manner as the feeder 10 disclosed in FIGS. 1-3. Parts corresponding to parts of the feeder 10 will be designated with corresponding reference numerals with a prime mark added thereto to designate the parts of feeder 90.
  • the feeder 90 has document supply stations 16' and 20' between which the documents M are fed in the course of positioning the pages of the document on the window 14'.
  • the sheets are fed from the stations 16 and 20 by a conveyor 42' driven by motors 32' and 32a depending upon whether the feed is from station 16 to the window 14' or from station 20 to the window.
  • the structures of stations 16 and 20, like stations 16 and 20, are identical and, consequently, only station 16' will be described in detail, and the corresponding structure of station 20' will carry the same reference numeral with the addition of a small letter a.
  • Station 16 is provided by a housing 92 suitably secured to the copying machine 12' by suitable brackets or the like (not shown) which provides for a rigid connection to the housing of the copying machine.
  • a document receiving tray 22 is disposed within housing 92.
  • Tray 22' is mounted for vertical movement relative to the housing 92 and has a tongue-and-groove connection 94 with the housing to guide the tray 22 as it moves vertically.
  • tray 22 has a feed slot 37 located adjacent the lower portion thereof through which the sheets are fed.
  • feed slot 37' Cooperating with feed slot 37' is a feed slot 96 in the housing 92 intermediate the top and bottom.
  • the tray 22 is movable between a feed position which is the position thereof illustrated in FIG. 4 to a receive position which is the position of tray 22a at station 20.
  • the trays 22' and 22a are moved into their feed positions by springs 98 acting between the underside of the tray 22' and the bottom of the housing 92.
  • a suitable stop 99 is provided to limit the uppermost position of the tray 22 and wherein the feed slots 37 and 96 are in alignment.
  • the tray 22 is moved downward to its receive position by a solenoid G. Solenoid G is operatively conneeted to the underside of the tray 22.
  • the feeder 90 operates similar to the feeder 10.
  • the operator sets the number of copies on the copy selector switch CSS, and the feeder 90 is set up as shown in FIG. 4.
  • the document to be copied is loaded lengthwise into the tray 22 through a slot in the front of housing 92.
  • the tray 22' is in its up position and the front end of the tray 22 is open and is in alignment with the loading opening in housing 92.
  • the hold-down 24 is in its up position to permit loading of the tray 22'.
  • the motor 32' is then energized to drive the roller 28' and rollers 44' to feed the sheet through the feed slots 37 and 96, to the window 14' of the copying machine 12'.
  • the motor 32' and shaft 30 which supports rollers 28' and gear 56 are supported on the bottom of tray 22 and move with the tray. Hence, before motor 32' can drive rollers 44, the tray 22' must be in feed position so that gear 56' and 58 are meshed.
  • the print button PB When the page is properly positioned on the window 14, the print button PB is depressed by solenoid E and an image is taken of the indicia on the document. If the unit is a parasite type unit photoelectric sensing means PES senses the light and again energizes the motor 32' to feed the document into the tray 22a which is in its receive position. This operation continues until all the pages of the document have been copied and are deposited in the tray 22a. If more than one copy is to be made, the position of the trays 22 and 22a are reversed from their positions shown in FIG. 4 by operation of solenoids G and Ga.
  • the trays 22a is in its feed position and the tray 22' in its receive position and the motor 32a is energized to drive the conveyor 42' to feed the sheets from the tray to the window 14'. From the window 14, the sheets are delivered to the tray 22 in the same numerical order in which they are delivered to the window 14. This operation continues until the stepping switch CCS has been stepped back or forward depending upon the type of switch mechanism employed until the required number of images have been taken of the document by the copying mechanism of the copying machine 12'.
  • the controls for feeder shown in FIG. 14 can be employed for controlling feeder 90.
  • Solenoids G and Ga would replace solenoids A and B in the circuit and otherwise the circuit would operate to control feeder 90 in the same manner as described for feeder 10.
  • the feeders 10 and 90 can be operated in a manner to eliminate the document supply stations 20 and 20'.
  • the pages of the document would be fed from tray 22 and 22 to the windows 14 and 14' and thereafter, the motor 32 and 32' would be reversed to drive the rollers 44 and 44' clockwise so that the pages would be fed from the copying windows 14 and 14 back to the tray 22 or 22'.
  • this would require changing the position of the gate 38 after each exposure so that the sheet returned from the window 14 to the tray 22 would be fed into the top of tray 22 and thereafter, the gate would be lowered in preparation for feed- 14 ing the bottom sheet of the document to the window 14, and so on and so forth.
  • Feeder would require the postion of trays 22 be moved from the feed to the receive position after the document is exposed to the copying mechanism so that the sheet would be fed back on top of the pages remaining to be copied.
  • the metal sensing switch MS-l and MS-l' would be mounted so that the end thereof protrudes slightly above the bottom surface of the respective trays and a metallic separator sheet can be loaded into the trays as the top sheet of the document so that when the sheets have all been fed, the metallic separator would engage the switch MS1 or MS-1' causing the selector switch CSS or CSS to he stepped one position, indicating that one copy of the document has been made.
  • the separator sheet would, in turn, be fed to the window 14 or 14' and the copy thereof would separate the copies of the document made by the machine.
  • Any suitable control means could be provided for reversing the positions of the gate 38 or trays 22 for providing the desired operation.
  • this mode of operation of the feeder 10 and 90 will be more time consuming, it has the advantage of always returning the document to single station 16 in addition to providing a lower cost unit due to elimination of stations 20 and 20.
  • feeders 10 and 90 have been disclosed in connection with the high-rise type copying Window, they are also equally adaptable for feeding documents to a flush-mounted copy window.
  • the trays 22 and 22a and housing 92 and 92a may be mounted at an angle relative to the window 14 and corresponding adjustments made in the conveyor 42 and 42'. This additional arrangement has not been illustrated as it is deemed to be Within the skill of the art.
  • the feeders can be integrated into the initial design of the copying machines and the problem of providing suitable means for supporting the feeders on an existing machine would be eliminated.
  • the present invention also provides document feeders for copying machines of the type described heretofore and which feeders operate to feed the document to the copying station of the machine and to thereafter deliver the document from the window to a second station. If an additional copy of the document is desired, the pages of the document will have to be manually removed from the second station and reloaded into the first station.
  • feeders which provide for making a single copy of a document are disclosed herein and shown in FIGS. 5 through 13.
  • Feeder comprises a document supply station 102 overlying the copying window 14 of the copying machine 12 and a document receiving station 104.
  • a document feeding mechanism 106 operates to advance the pages of the document to the copying station and feed the pages successively to the document receiving station 104 after each page has been exposed to the copying mechanism of the copying machine 12.
  • the document supply station 102 is provided by a frame 108 which is shown attached to the copying machine 12 above the copying window 14.
  • Frame 108 has a transparent bottom plate 110 which rests on the window 14.
  • the frame 108 has a cover 112 which overlies the transparent plate 110.
  • the cover 112 is movable vertically toward and away from the transparent bottom plate 110 and has a plurality of spring biased hold-down members 114 which engage the top sheet of the document to maintain the bottom sheet in engagement with the transparent bottom 110.
  • the document is loaded into the frame 108 between the cover 112 and plate 110 at the front side of the feeder.
  • the cover 112 can be moved upwardly to load the pages of the document into frame or tray 108 and is then moved downwardly until the spring mounted hold-down members 114 engage the top sheet of the stack.
  • the right edges of the sheets as viewed in FIG. 6 abut against a guide member supported on rod 118 of the feed mechanism 106.
  • the abutment 116 vertically align the sheets and properly position them in relation to copying window
  • the bottom page is in position to be exposed to the copying mechanism of the copying machine 12 through window 14.
  • the bottom sheet is fed one at a time from the transparent bottom 110 by the feeding mechanism 106 and are deposited in a tray 119 of the document receiving station 104.
  • a new bottom sheet is then positioned on transparent plate 110 and is ready to be exposed to the copying mechanism of the copying machine 12.
  • the feeding operation continues until all pages of the document have been deposited in tray 119 and the feeder is shut
  • the feeding mechanism 106 comprises a plurality of reciprocating members 120 having sheet gripping means 122 at their forward end.
  • the gripper members 120 move to the left as viewed in the drawings and are forced upwardly so that the gripping means 122 thereof engages the bottom of the sheet and upon withdrawal, pulls the sheet from the stack into a feed roll 124.
  • the reciprocating members 120 are slidably mounted in recesses 125 provided in the bottom plate 126 of the framework of the feed mechanism 106 and are moved into and out of the tray 108 by a solenoid 127.
  • the members are drivingly interconnected to move simultaneously by a crossbar 128.
  • the crossbar 128 has a plurality of vertically extending pins 130 which are slidably received in openings 132 provided in the feed members 120. Slots 133 are provided in plate 126 to accommodate movement of pin 130.
  • the movable ram 134 of the solenoid 127 is connected to the crossbar 128 by a pin connection 135. By this arrangement, movement of the ram of the solenoid to the left moves the leading ends of feed members 120 into the tray 108.
  • the front or leading portion of each member 120 has an inclined surface 120a which engages an inclined surface 110a formed on the opposite edge of the transparent bottom 110. The wedging engagement between the surfaces 120a and 110a forces the feed members 120 upwardly.
  • member 120 Upward movement of member 120 provides good frictional engagement between the gripping means 122 and the underside of the leading edge of the bottom sheet of the document. Furthermore the upward movement breaks the contact between the bottom sheet and transparent plate 110 as shown in FIG. 7 so that the sheet can be readily removed therefrom.
  • the upper leading surfaces of the feed members 120 are coated with friction material and have a plurality of very fine needles 122a extending vertically from the upper surface.
  • the needles 122a have very small diameters which are preferably approximately .002.003 inches at the tips and preferably extend upward approximately .004 of an inch from member 120.
  • the members 120 can be set so that the needles 122a do not go all the way through the paper and in any event make very small unnoticeable perforations in the paper and are sufficient to grip the sheet.
  • Reverse movement of the ram 134 of the solenoid 127 pulls the bottom sheet away from the stack and introduces the leading portion thereof into feed rolls 124.
  • the feed rolls 124 engage the upper side of the leading edge of the sheet and strip it from the feed members and move it along the upper flat surface 126a into registry with a plurality of second feed rolls 136.
  • the feed rolls 136 continue to feed the sheet to the right as viewed in the drawings onto an apron 138.
  • the sheet is conveyed along the apron 138 and is deposited in the tray 119 of the document receiving station 104.
  • the feed rolls 124 have a friction surface so as to provide good frictional engagement with the sheet to move same along the flat surface 126a of plate 126 and along apron 138.
  • the feed rolls 124 are mounted on a shaft 140 which is supported at its opposite end in brackets 142 and 143.
  • the feed rolls 136 also have a friction surface and are mounted on a drive shaft 144 which is likewise journaled in the brackets 142 and 143.
  • the drive shafts 140 and 144 are driven by a motor 146 which drives a pulley 148.
  • Pulley 148 drives pulleys 150 and 152 mounted respectively on the ends of shafts 140 and 144 through a flexible drive belt 154.
  • the drive arrangement provides for rotating of rolls 124 and 136 counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 6.
  • Feeder 100 has an on button which is depressed by the operator along with the on button of the copying machine 12. Depressing on button 160 energizes a solenoid H which operates like solenoid E of feeder 10 to depress the print button of the copy machine 12.
  • a photoelectric sensor 162 similar to sensor PES of feeder 10 initiates operation of solenoid 127 of feed mechanism 106 after the light illuminating the bottom sheet goes out.
  • solenoid 127 moves gripping members 120 into gripping engagement with the bottom page of the document which has just been exposed to the copying mechanism.
  • a suitable switch is activated by movement of the members 120 to their extreme left position shown in FIG. 7 and de-energizes solenoid 127 and initiates operation of motor 146 to drive rolls 124 and 136.
  • the members 120 are retracted preferably by spring means associated with solenoid 127. Retraction of members 120 removes the bottom page from document supply station 102 and feeds it into the first series of feed rolls 124.
  • the feed rolls 124 strip the sheet from gripper means 122 and move the sheet along the surface 126a into registry with the second series of feed rolls 136.
  • the feed rolls 136 move the document along the apron 138 into the tray 119. The operation continues until all the pages of the document have been copied. If additional copies are to be made of the document, the pages of the document accumulated in tray 119 are reloaded into the document supply station 102 and the described operation is repeated.
  • the structure of the document supply station 102 including frame 109 and cover 112 can also be pivoted as a unit about a guide rod 164 of machine 12 on which the frame 108 is mounted so that the machine can be used for copying documents, such as books or the like, by manual operation of the machine 12.
  • FIGS. 8-11 Another feeder embodiment according to the present invention is disclosed in FIGS. 8-11 and is designated generally as 170.
  • Feeder is generally similar to the feeder 100.
  • the feeder 170- is shown as a feeder for a copying machine 12" having a flush-mounted copying window 14".
  • the feeder 170 includes a document supply station 172 disposed above the window 14" of the machine 12 and feeding mechanism 174 for successively feeding the bottom sheets of the document after they have been copied by the copying mechanism into a document receiving station 176.
  • the document supply station 172 includes a frame 178 which is suitable secured to the machine 12" by suitable connector means.
  • a transparent glass plate 180 is secured to the frame 178 and overlies the glass copying window of the machine.
  • the document to be copied is placed face down on the transparent plate 180 and a vertically movable hinged cover 182 is lowered on top of the stack of documents and a plurality of spring urged hold-downs 184 engage the top sheet and maintain the bottom sheet in contact with the transparent window 180.
  • the cover member 182 is supported on the framework by a rod 186 which is free to move in -a vertical slot 188 provided in the frame 178.
  • the cover member 182 can move up and down to accommodate loading of different sized documents and moves downward as the stack is depleted by the feed mechanism 17-4.
  • the cover 182 has a handle 190 to provide for pivoting the cover 182 about the rod 106 to load the feeder.
  • an operators depresses the on button 192 of the copying machine 12" and the on button 194 of the feeder 170.
  • the feeder 170 operates generally similar to feeder 100 and the controls described for feeder 100 may be employed to control operation of feeder 170.
  • Depression of on button 194 operates a solenoid I which depresses the print button of the machine 12".
  • a photoelectric sensor not shown, initiates operation of the feeding mechanism 174 to feed the bottom sheet to station 176.
  • the feeding mechanism 174 comprises a plurality of reciprocable feed members 196 which move under the cover 182 and into engagement with the bottom page of the document and remove the document from the transparent plate 180.
  • the transparent plate 180 has a beveled edge 180a wihch cooperates with a beveled edge 196a provided on the leading portion of each of the feed members 196 to wedge the feed members 196 up into engagement with the underside of the document positioned on the transparent plate as described heretofore in connection with feed members 120 of feeder 100.
  • the leading surface of the feed members 196 are preferably rubber coated and may include a plurality of tiny needles 198, as described heretofore to pierce the document.
  • the piercing of the document by the needles 198 and the wedging action assist in breaking the contact betwen the bottom sheet and the transparent plate 180 to permit air to move thereunder and help to break surface tension therebetween so that the page can be subsequently readily removed upon reverse movement of the feed members 196.
  • the feed members 196 are guidably supported in slots 200 provided in the feeding mechanism framework.
  • the feeding members 196 are moved into engagement with the document by spring means 202.
  • Spring means 202 act between the right end of slots 200 and the right end of feeder members 196 as viewed in the drawings.
  • the members 196 are retracted from their FIGS. 9 and position to their position illustrated in FIG. 8 by a plurality of pinions 204 mounted on a common shaft 206 which in turn is drive-n by an electric motor 208.
  • the upper side of each of the members 196 have a rack 210 formed thereon which meshes with one of the pinions 204.
  • the members 196 are guided on suitable bearings, such as ball bearings 212.
  • the feed members 196 are maintained in their retracted position by a solenoid operated detent 214 (FIG. 9) which engages a recess 216 on one of the members 196.
  • the detent 214 is spring urged into recess 216 when they are aligned and is retracted to release the associated member 196 by a solenoid I. It is only necessary to latch one of the feed members 196 since it locks the pinion shaft 206 which in turn holds the other members 196 in their retracted positions through their associated pinion 204.
  • solenoid J Upon energization of solenoid J by the photoelectric sensor, the detent 214 will be withdrawn from recess 216 and members 196 are moved by springs 202 into engagement with the document.
  • a suitable connection such as a one way clutch may be provided between pinion shaft 206 and motor 208 to permit the shaft to rotate clockwise as viewed in FIG. 8 as the members move toward the document.
  • the motor 208 is operated by a conventional switch 216 (FIG. 9) which is tripped when the members 196 have moved to their extreme left position.
  • Switch actuator 216a is received in a slot 218 in one of the members 196 and is tripped after predetermined movement of the member 196 to the left as shown in FIG. 9.
  • Motor 208 rotates pinion shaft 206 counterclockwise and pinions 210 drive the members 196 and gripped sheet to the right.
  • feed rolls 220 which have a friction surface, such as rubber, and strip the sheet from the feed members 196 and move it along an inclined ramp 222.
  • a second set of feed rolls 224 are provided adjacent the upper end of the feed ramp 222 and engage the leading edge of the sheet and continue to move the page into a tray 226 of the document receiving station 176.
  • the rolls 220 and 224 are driven from the electric motor 208 through a series of belts and pulleys as shown in FIG. 11.
  • the motor 208 is stopped by switch 216.
  • Switch 216 is again tripped when the members 196 are in their retracted position and stops motor 208 after a suitable delay to insure that rolls 220' and 224 have moved the sheet into tray 226.
  • the rolls 220 and 224 and the drive means therefor are mounted on a cover member 230.
  • the cover member 230 is pivoted to the framework providing the tray 226 by pin 232.
  • the left-hand end of the cover member 230 has an opening 234 providing a hand hold so that the cover 230 can be pivoted about the hinge pin 232 to remove the documents in the tray 226.
  • the drive from motor 208 to pinion shaft 206 is disconnectible to permit pivoting of cover 230.
  • the disconnectible drive includes a gear 235 on shaft 220a carrying rolls 220 which meshes with a gear 236 on a stub shaft on the stationary frame of the feeder mechanism 174.
  • Gear 236 meshes with a gear 238 mounted on a stub shaft which carries a pulley 240.
  • Pulley 240 drives a pulley 242 fixed on the end of pinion shaft 206 through a belt 244.
  • the feeder is to be a parasite-type unit.
  • the feeder can be controlled by the circuits of the copying machine and the photoelectric sensor and the solenoid I for actuating the print button can be eliminated.
  • Feeder 250 comprises a transfer carriage 252.
  • the transfer carriage 252 is movable from a first position above a document supply station 254 and wherein the carriage 252 grips the top sheet of a document to a second position above copying window 14 of copying machine 12.
  • the carriage 252 positions the document on the window 14 without releasing same and the copying machine 12 is actuated to make a copy thereof through the copying window 14.
  • Stripping means are provided for stripping the page from the carrier so that it falls by gravity into a tray 258 of the document receiving station 256.
  • the carriage 252 is then returned to the document supply station 254 where it grips another document and carries same to the window 14 and to the document receiving station 256.
  • the document supply station 254 includes a housing providing a tray 260.
  • the tray 260 has a vertically movable bottom 262.
  • the bottom 262 is urged upwardly in the tray 260 by a plurality of springs 264 to maintain the top sheet of the documents in position to be engaged by the gripping means of the carrier 252.
  • a solenoid K is operatively connected to the tray 260 and has a plunger 266 connected to tray bottom 262 to move the bottom 262 downward for loading of the tray 260.
  • the carriage 252 is supported for movement between the three positions by a pair of spaced tracks 268 and 270.
  • the tracks 268 and 270 extend from the document supply station 254 to the document receiving station 256.
  • Each track is generally C-shaped and is adapted to receive therein rollers 272 supported on the carriage 252.
  • the tracks 268 and 270 are supported by brackets 274 and 276 on the copying machine 12.
  • Bracket 274 supports drive means such as driven pinions 278 which mesh with a gear rack 280 provided along the underside of the carriage 252 to drive the carriage.
  • the pinions 278 are driven from an electric motor 282 through a drive belt and pulley arrangement, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.
  • a plurality of idler pinions 284 are supported on bracket 276 and mesh with a rack 286 on the underside of carriage 252 and prevent the carriage from skewing.
  • a plurality of gripping means 288 which preferably are three rows of suction members 290.
  • Suitable interconnected air conduits are provided on the carriage 252 to interconnect each suction member 290 to a rotary air pump 292 mounted on the carriage 252.
  • the air pump 292 is driven by a suitable electric motor 294 on the carriage 252.
  • the documents are loaded into the tray 260 with the indicia face down and the stack is urged upwardly by the springs 264.
  • the carriage is in its first position above the tray 260 and the top sheet of the stack of the documents is moved into or adjacent to the bottom edge of the suction members 290.
  • a switch is actuated which operates motor 294 to drive the rotary air pump 292 and establish a vacuum or suction in the suction members 290 which will grip the top sheet of the document.
  • the motor 282 is actuated to rotate the pinions 278 which mesh with the rack 280 and drive the carriage from its first position to a position in which the document overlies the copying window of the copying machine.
  • the tracks 268 and 270 curve slightly downward adjacent the copying station to position the document in contact with the copying window 14.
  • the suction members 290 function as hold-down means to maintain the sheet to be copied flat and in contact with the copying window 14.
  • a switch is actuated to stop motor 282 and start the copying cycle of the copying machine.
  • the drive motor 282 is again actuated to move the carriage to its third position over the tray 258 of the document receiving-station 256.
  • tracks 268 and 270 are preferably pivoted adjacent trays 258 and 260 to provide for pivoting the tracks 268 and 270 away from the window 14 to expose the copying window of the machine for other types of copying.
  • a feeder for feeding the pages of a document individually to a viewing station of a copying machine or any photoelectric device which views an original document comprising means defining a document supply station from which the individual pages are advanced to said viewing station, and feeding means for advancing the pages of the document to said viewing station and for returning the pages of the document to said supply station for repeated viewing thereof by the machine.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 1 further including control means for controlling the operation of said feeding means and settable to effect a selected number of repeated operation of said feeding means for providing said selected number of viewings of said document.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 2 wherein said feeding means includes a second document station, means for delivering the document from said viewing station to said document station and for feeding the document from said second document station to said viewing station and said control means controls the number of times the document is fed to said viewing station from said document stations.
  • each of said document stations comprises a document tray having a feed opening in the lower portion thereof through which the document is fed and gate means movable to an operative position for directing the document into the tray at the upper portion of the tray and said control means includes means for positioning said gate means for the tray receiving the document from the viewing station in said operative position.
  • each of said document stations comprises a vertically movable document tray and means for moving said trays between a feed position wherein a document can be fed therefrom to said viewing station and a receiving position wherein a document can be received from said viewing station and said control means controls the position of said trays so that when one of the trays is in said feed position, the other of said trays is in said receive position.
  • a document feeder for a machine which views the document pages at a viewing station comprising means providing a document supply station for the document, means providing a stationary viewing window spaced a predetermined distance from said supply station, means for presenting the pages in said supply station to said viewing window including means for positioning each page in proper orientation on said window for viewing by the viewing mechanism of the machine, wherein at least a portion of the "feeder overlies said window, and means 21 supporting said portion for movement away from said window to expose said window.
  • a document feeder for a machine which views the document pages at. a viewing station comprising means providing a document supply station for the document, means providing a stationary viewing window spaced a predetermined distance from said supply station, means for presenting the pages in said supply station to said viewing window including means for positioning each page in proper orientation on said window for viewing by the viewing mechanism of the machine, wherein said document supply station is located above said window and said means for presenting a document to the window includes a hold-down means exerting a downward force on the document to urge it .into viewing position.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim wherein said means for presenting a document to the window further including means including a reciprocable member to grip a page of the document and remove same from the window to present the succeeding page of the document to the window.
  • a document feeder for advancing the pages of a document to be copied to a viewing station of a copying machine or for any photoelectric device having a viewing station at which an original document is viewed comprising means providing a document storage station into which the pages of the document are loaded in the form of a stack and means for successively advancing the pages of the document at said document storage station to the viewing station and from the viewing station to a document receiving station including a reciprocable feed member having sheet gripping means and operable to engage a page of the document upon movement in one direction and remove the engaged page from the stack upon movement in the opposite direction and means associated with the document storage station and engageable with said feed member as said feed member moves in said one direction to drive said gripping means into engagement with a page.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 15 wherein the leading portion of said feed member is beveled and is engageable with said beveled surface of said bottom plate to provide a wedging action on said feed member.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 16 wherein said means for successively advancing the pages of the document further include a plurality of said feed members, each of said feed members having a beveled surface which engages said beveled surface of said bottom plate to force said feed members into engagement with the bottom sheet of the document and drive means for moving said feed members simultaneously.
  • said drive means comprises a plurality of springs biasing said feed members in said one direction toward said bot- 22 tom plate, a plurality of pinions supported for rotation by a driven shaft and each of said feed members having a rack in meshing engagement with an associated one of said pinions whereby rotation of said pinions drives said feed members in said opposite direction.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 12 wherein said viewing station comprises an exterior transparent window through which the documents are exposed to the viewing mechanism of the machine and wherein said document supply station has a bottom transparent plate which overlies said window whereby the bottom sheet of the document is exposed to the viewing mechanism through said transparent plate and said window.
  • a document feeder for successively feeding pages of a document to a viewing station of a copying machine or for any photoelectric device having a viewing station at which an original document is viewed comprising means providing a document supply station into which the documents to be viewed are loaded, and a document receiving station adapted to receive the documents after they have been viewed, a carriage means supporting said carriage for movement from a first position adjacent said document supply station to a second station at said viewing station and from said second station to a third station adjacent said document receiving station, sheet gripping means on said carriage and adapted to grip a document at said first station and to release said document at said third station.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 22 wherein said sheet gripping means comprises a plurality of suction members depending from said carriage and means for selectively establishing a suction in said suction members to secure the sheet to the carriage and means for discontinuing the suction in said suction members at said third station to release the sheet.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 22 wherein said means supporting said carriage for movement includes guideways extending from said document supply station to said document receiving station and having an intermediate portion adjacent said second carriage station which is offset vertically from the other portions thereof to provide for positioning a sheet carried by the carriage at said viewing station.
  • a document feeder for a copying machine or for any photoelectric device which views an original document through an exterior viewing window comprising means defining a document supply station for receiving a document to be viewed, means supporting said document supply station adjacent said viewing window, means for presenting the pages of a document to the viewing window including means for positioning each document page relative to the viewing window for exposure to the viewing mechanism of the machine through the window, said means for presenting the document -to the window comprises power driven roller means engageable with the document at said document supply station and operable to convey the document to the window, said power driven roller means includes a plurality of spaced rollers, means counter-balancing said rollers to exert a predetermined pressure on the window and operable to provide for movement of said rollers away from the window an extent necessary to accommodate the thickness of a sheet being advanced across said window by said rollers.
  • a document feeder for a copying machine or for any photoelectric device which views an original document through an exterior viewing window comprising means defining a document supply station for receiving a document to be viewed, means supporting said document supply station adjacent said viewing window, means for presenting the page of a document to the viewing including means for positioning each document page relative to the viewing window for exposure to the viewing mechanism of the machine through the window, said document supply station is located above said window and said means for presenting a document to the window includes a hold-down means exerting a downward force on the document to urge it into viewing position, said means for presenting a document to the window further including means includng a reciprocable member having a document gripping means and means for reciprocating said member to grip a page of the document and remove same from the window to present the succeeding page of the document to the window, said gripping means comprises a plurality of fine needles protruding vertically from said member and adapted to penetrate a single page of the document and feed it upon movement of said reciprocable member.
  • a document feeder for a copying machine or for any photoelectric device which views an original document through an exterior viewing window comprising means defining a document supply station for receiving a document to be viewed, means supporting said document supply station adjacent said viewing window, means for presenting the pages of a document to the viewing window including means for positioning each document page relative to the viewing window for exposure to the viewing mechanism of the machine through the window, said document supply station is located above said window and said means for presenting a document to the window includes a hold-down means exerting a downward force on the document to urge it into viewing position, said means for presenting a document to the window further including means including a reciprocable member having a document gripping means and means for reciprocating said member to grip a page of the document and remove same from the window to present the succeeding page of the document to the window, said gripping means comprises adhesive material on said reciprocating member and engageable with document to secure the document to said member.
  • a document feeder for a copying machine or for any photoelectric device which views an original document through an exterior viewing window comprising means defining a document supply station for receiving a document to be viewed, means supporting said document supply station adjacent said viewing window, means for presenting the pages of a document to the viewing window including means for positioning each document page relative to tne viewing window for exposure to the viewing mechanism of the machine through the window, said means for feeding the document to a window includes a carriage supported for movement between a first position adjacent said document supply station and a second position above the window, document gripping means on said carriage and adapted to engage a document when said carriage is at first position and to position the gripped document on the window when the carriage is at said second position, said carriage is further supported for movement to a third position adjacent a document receiving station and said carriage is adapted to deliver a document from the window to'said document receiving station and to release the document at said third position.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 28 wherein said document gripping means comprises parts having adhesive material thereon and further including stripping means adjacent said third station to strip the document from said adhesive areas when said carriage is at said third position.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 29 further including a suction pump and means for communicating said suction pump with said suction members to establish a suction in the suction members to secure a document to a carriage.
  • An improved method of handling a multi-page document having pages arranged in a predetermined order to facilitate production of multiple collated copies of the document said method comp-rising sequentially moving pages of said document in the predetermined order from a supply station into copying relation with an exposure station of a copying apparatus; and sequentially moving pages exposed at the exposure station back to the supply station in a manner maintaining the predetermined order.
  • a method of feeding a multipage document to facilitate production of multiple collate-d copies of the document comprising sequentially moving individually pages of said document in a predetermined order into a copying relation with the exposure station of a copying apparatus; sequentially moving pages exposed at said exposure station to a receiving station in a manner maintaining said predetermined order; and, after the last page of said multipage document has been received at said receiving station, sequentially moving said documents in said predetermined order from said receiving station back to said exposure station.
  • a document feeding mechanism having means defining a copying position, means defining a document supply station for supporting a stack of document pages in a given order, and means for moving documents supported at said supply station seriatum in said given order to said copying position, the improvement comprising means for feeding document pages from said copying position back to said supply station in a manner main taining said given order.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 39 including control means for controlling feeding and delivering of sheets including means for operating the machine to make a separator page between each replica of the document to separate each replica of the document made by the machine.
  • a document feeder as defined in claim 40 wherein said means for operating the machine to provide a separator includes means for feeding a separator sheet as the last page of the document.
  • a device for handling a document having document pages arranged in a predetermined order in a manner facilitating the production of multiple collated document copies said device being adapted for use with copying apparatus of the type having a copying station whereat document pages are located for copying and comprising means defining a supply station for receiving and supporting in the predetermined order a stack of document pages to be copied; means for sequentially moving in the predetermined order to the copy station, document pages supported at said supply station; and means for sequentially feeding document pages from the copy station to said supply station in a manner maintaining the predetermined order.
  • a document handling device adapted for use with copying apparatus of the type having a copying station at which sheets of a document are located for copying, said device comprising first means for supporting a References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,947,218 '8/1960 Hayden et al. 35564 X 2,968,992 1/1961 Billet 35564 X 3,179,001 4/1965 Silverman 355-41 3,256,791 6/1966 Blume et al. 355-6 3,266,366 8/ 1966 'Hunt 88--24 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner RICHARD A. WINTERCORN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
  • Exposure Or Original Feeding In Electrophotography (AREA)
  • Holders For Sensitive Materials And Originals (AREA)
  • Conveyance By Endless Belt Conveyors (AREA)
  • Delivering By Means Of Belts And Rollers (AREA)
  • Pile Receivers (AREA)
  • Facsimiles In General (AREA)
  • Registering Or Overturning Sheets (AREA)
  • Discharge By Other Means (AREA)
US617582A 1967-02-21 1967-02-21 Document feeder Expired - Lifetime US3499710A (en)

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US61758267A 1967-02-21 1967-02-21

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US3499710A true US3499710A (en) 1970-03-10

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US617582A Expired - Lifetime US3499710A (en) 1967-02-21 1967-02-21 Document feeder

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US (1) US3499710A (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png)
JP (2) JPS4938181B1 (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png)
BE (1) BE711033A (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png)
CH (1) CH469570A (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png)
DE (3) DE1622198A1 (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png)
FR (1) FR1573938A (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png)
GB (5) GB1223353A (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png)
SE (3) SE386878B (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png)

Cited By (26)

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US3556512A (en) * 1968-12-04 1971-01-19 Xerox Corp Document feed apparatus
US3556513A (en) * 1968-12-04 1971-01-19 Xerox Corp Document feed apparatus
US3556511A (en) * 1968-11-20 1971-01-19 Xerox Corp Document feed apparatus
US3565420A (en) * 1969-05-15 1971-02-23 Xerox Corp Document feeding apparatus
US3630607A (en) * 1970-09-09 1971-12-28 Xerox Corp Set separation copier system
US3677635A (en) * 1970-04-22 1972-07-18 Saxon Ind Inc Copying machine system
US3799537A (en) * 1971-06-11 1974-03-26 Dennison Mfg Co Document feeding mechanism
US3874652A (en) * 1972-05-08 1975-04-01 Decision Consultants Apparatus for feeding sheet material from the bottom of a stack
US3898003A (en) * 1973-08-16 1975-08-05 Addressograph Multigraph Viewer printer machine
US3900258A (en) * 1972-08-29 1975-08-19 Xerox Corp Exposure apparatus
US3901594A (en) * 1974-03-08 1975-08-26 Xerox Corp Semi-automatic document handler
US3909129A (en) * 1974-04-26 1975-09-30 Xerox Corp Document feeding apparatus
US3963345A (en) * 1975-03-24 1976-06-15 Xerox Corporation Pre-collation copying
US3966318A (en) * 1974-11-22 1976-06-29 Xerox Corporation Apparatus for automatic microphotography
DE2605571A1 (de) * 1975-09-22 1977-03-24 Xerox Corp Kopiersystem mit bidirektionalem kopierausgang
US4042233A (en) * 1973-05-09 1977-08-16 Vits-Maschinenbau Gmbh Installation for collecting identically shaped, large and different types of sheets from a plurality of dispensing stations at a collating station
US4042807A (en) * 1974-11-12 1977-08-16 Compagnie Honeywell Bull Apparatus for the processing of documents
US4047209A (en) * 1974-05-20 1977-09-06 N.V. Optische Industrie "De Oude Delft" Film transport
US4116558A (en) * 1977-02-09 1978-09-26 Xerox Corporation Duplex system and method for pre-collation copiers
EP0002913A1 (en) * 1977-12-27 1979-07-11 International Business Machines Corporation Recirculating sheet feeder and copying or duplicating machine having such feeder
US4413901A (en) * 1979-06-19 1983-11-08 International Business Machines Corporation Recirculating automatic document feeder
US4525064A (en) * 1982-07-12 1985-06-25 William E. Grover Copier apparatus
US4946157A (en) * 1988-09-12 1990-08-07 Gunther International, Ltd. Sheet loading and unloading mechanism
US5027155A (en) * 1989-01-28 1991-06-25 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Image forming apparatus including mechanisms for exposure lamp exchange
US5317372A (en) * 1991-12-26 1994-05-31 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Copying method and apparatus
WO2008042933A1 (en) * 2006-10-03 2008-04-10 J & L Group International, Llc Sheet feed method and apparatus

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA1077556A (en) * 1974-11-13 1980-05-13 Eastman Kodak Company Recirculating sheet feeder
US4043665A (en) * 1975-03-26 1977-08-23 Xerox Corporation Copier document handler
GB1599774A (en) * 1977-02-10 1981-10-07 Ricoh Kk Document feeding apparatus
JPS6012616B2 (ja) * 1979-05-29 1985-04-02 大日本スクリ−ン製造株式会社 自動製版カメラ
CA1226593A (en) * 1983-09-07 1987-09-08 Dunlop Olympic Limited Method and apparatus of separating and transporting fabric pieces

Citations (5)

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US2947218A (en) * 1955-12-15 1960-08-02 Eastman Kodak Co Document handling apparatus
US2968992A (en) * 1958-11-21 1961-01-24 Vari Typer Corp Camera apparatus and method of making up printed copy
US3179001A (en) * 1961-12-08 1965-04-20 Silverman Daniel Method and apparatus for storing on and retrieving information from multiple information strips
US3256791A (en) * 1962-11-02 1966-06-21 Azoplate Corp Electrophotographic process and apparatus for the automatic and continuous reproduction of originals
US3266366A (en) * 1963-09-09 1966-08-16 Xerox Corp Automatic xerographic apparatus

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2947218A (en) * 1955-12-15 1960-08-02 Eastman Kodak Co Document handling apparatus
US2968992A (en) * 1958-11-21 1961-01-24 Vari Typer Corp Camera apparatus and method of making up printed copy
US3179001A (en) * 1961-12-08 1965-04-20 Silverman Daniel Method and apparatus for storing on and retrieving information from multiple information strips
US3256791A (en) * 1962-11-02 1966-06-21 Azoplate Corp Electrophotographic process and apparatus for the automatic and continuous reproduction of originals
US3266366A (en) * 1963-09-09 1966-08-16 Xerox Corp Automatic xerographic apparatus

Cited By (27)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3556511A (en) * 1968-11-20 1971-01-19 Xerox Corp Document feed apparatus
US3556513A (en) * 1968-12-04 1971-01-19 Xerox Corp Document feed apparatus
US3556512A (en) * 1968-12-04 1971-01-19 Xerox Corp Document feed apparatus
US3565420A (en) * 1969-05-15 1971-02-23 Xerox Corp Document feeding apparatus
US3677635A (en) * 1970-04-22 1972-07-18 Saxon Ind Inc Copying machine system
US3630607A (en) * 1970-09-09 1971-12-28 Xerox Corp Set separation copier system
US3799537A (en) * 1971-06-11 1974-03-26 Dennison Mfg Co Document feeding mechanism
US3874652A (en) * 1972-05-08 1975-04-01 Decision Consultants Apparatus for feeding sheet material from the bottom of a stack
US3900258A (en) * 1972-08-29 1975-08-19 Xerox Corp Exposure apparatus
US4042233A (en) * 1973-05-09 1977-08-16 Vits-Maschinenbau Gmbh Installation for collecting identically shaped, large and different types of sheets from a plurality of dispensing stations at a collating station
US3898003A (en) * 1973-08-16 1975-08-05 Addressograph Multigraph Viewer printer machine
US3901594A (en) * 1974-03-08 1975-08-26 Xerox Corp Semi-automatic document handler
US3909129A (en) * 1974-04-26 1975-09-30 Xerox Corp Document feeding apparatus
US4047209A (en) * 1974-05-20 1977-09-06 N.V. Optische Industrie "De Oude Delft" Film transport
US4042807A (en) * 1974-11-12 1977-08-16 Compagnie Honeywell Bull Apparatus for the processing of documents
US3966318A (en) * 1974-11-22 1976-06-29 Xerox Corporation Apparatus for automatic microphotography
US3963345A (en) * 1975-03-24 1976-06-15 Xerox Corporation Pre-collation copying
DE2605571A1 (de) * 1975-09-22 1977-03-24 Xerox Corp Kopiersystem mit bidirektionalem kopierausgang
US4116558A (en) * 1977-02-09 1978-09-26 Xerox Corporation Duplex system and method for pre-collation copiers
EP0002913A1 (en) * 1977-12-27 1979-07-11 International Business Machines Corporation Recirculating sheet feeder and copying or duplicating machine having such feeder
US4413901A (en) * 1979-06-19 1983-11-08 International Business Machines Corporation Recirculating automatic document feeder
US4525064A (en) * 1982-07-12 1985-06-25 William E. Grover Copier apparatus
US4946157A (en) * 1988-09-12 1990-08-07 Gunther International, Ltd. Sheet loading and unloading mechanism
US5027155A (en) * 1989-01-28 1991-06-25 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Image forming apparatus including mechanisms for exposure lamp exchange
US5317372A (en) * 1991-12-26 1994-05-31 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Copying method and apparatus
WO2008042933A1 (en) * 2006-10-03 2008-04-10 J & L Group International, Llc Sheet feed method and apparatus
US20080157461A1 (en) * 2006-10-03 2008-07-03 Roth Curtis A Sheet feed method and apparatus

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1223352A (en) 1971-02-24
GB1223353A (en) 1971-02-24
DE1797629B2 (de) 1980-01-10
GB1223356A (en) 1971-02-24
GB1223355A (en) 1971-02-24
JPS4938181B1 (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png) 1974-10-16
SE338714B (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png) 1971-09-13
BE711033A (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png) 1968-07-01
DE1797629A1 (de) 1976-07-29
FR1573938A (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png) 1969-07-11
DE1797631C3 (de) 1981-02-12
GB1223354A (en) 1971-02-24
SE386878B (sv) 1976-08-23
JPS5034416B1 (US20100223739A1-20100909-C00005.png) 1975-11-08
DE1797631B2 (de) 1980-05-29
CH469570A (fr) 1969-03-15
DE1622198A1 (de) 1970-09-17
SE399861B (sv) 1978-03-06
DE1797631A1 (de) 1976-10-21

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